Reno AIr Races - last ever 2023

[Eric Mc]

It was announced in the last day or so that the 2023 Reno AIr Races will be the last.

The races themselves may continue if a new venue can be found.

[Eric Mc]

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

What was wrong with this thread?

[Eric Mc]

Because it got so few replies I asumed nobody was interested in the news.

It was announced a few weeks ago and is entirely down to changes at Reno Airport and nothing to do with shortage of spares.

However, crowds have been declining at the event over the past few years so the economic sense was fading. I think they will have difficulty finding an alternative venue.

[Eric Mc]

Mojave has been mentioned. I think the appetite for such events is declining. The Galloping Ghost crash in 2011 didn't help - and they had a fatal crash there last year too.

[Eric Mc]

Tony - I think you make a very good point. The generations of (mostly) men and boys who were infatuated by aeroplanes is fast fading away. I don't think that there is a mass interest in aviation amongst the under 50s to be honest.

[Eric Mc]

LukeBrown66 said:

Some good points made, doesnt really explain the popularity of modern F1 though no doubt one of the dullest forms of motorsport currently, yet massively popular, I don't get it.

Media and slick marketing. It's all about promotion and the relevant budgets to keep the profile high.

Reno is an extremely niche corner of a pretty niche activity i.e. air racing.

[Eric Mc]

zsdom said:

Eric Mc said:

I don't think that there is a mass interest in aviation amongst the under 50s to be honest.

This is fundamentally wrong, airshows are still one of the most attended events across the UK, Cosford for a one day show sold out at over 50k, RIAT also regularly sees well over 200k people attend. That can’t all be with the majority of them being over 50
Go to a base like Lakenheath or Connigsby & you’ll find the majority are well under your age bracket

Not sure I am wrong. There is probably about 1/10 of the airshows around these days compared to 30 plus years ago. With a reduced number of events, you might expect that the few that are left will get a decent crowd.

Have a look at the airshow calendar for 1983 compared to 2023.

[Eric Mc]

zsdom said:

It’s a classic boomerism ‘its not how it was in my days’

Because in this case, it genuinely ISN'T the same as it was.

The point I am making is that with fewer airshows, then it is easier for the remaining small number of shows to be well attended. Try hosting almost 100 airshows in a year as we once did here in the UK and see how many would turn up today.

Airshows are dying for all sorts of reasons. Lack of public interest is ONE of those reasons.

And I know quite a few young people (under 40) snd I can assure you that the percentage of them that have even a remote interest in anything that flies is vansihingly small.

[Eric Mc]

zsdom said:

I’d disagree, RIAT sees their attendance in the 100s of thousands, Cosford was near 58k, Bournemouth saw over 600k, most seaside shows, of which there’s 4-5 a year, report 250k, then your regular Duxford, Shuttleworth, Headcorns, Abingdon, they’ll see 10s of thousands too

The seaside show is a relatively modern phenomeon and to me counting crowd attendances at an event where you don't need to pay to attend is not a fair comparison with more traditional "pay to get in" events whether they be sports events or old fashioned airfield based airshows.

The demise I am talking about is in what I would call "proper" airshows, held at airfields with static and flying displays and aviation themed traders and ground based displays. They are much, much rarer than they used to be. So, by default "proper" airshow crowds have to be down because "proper" airshows are far less frequent.

And don't bang on too much about the huge crowds at free seaside airshow. Those airshows are now beginning to disappear too with many local councils calling a halt to them too. The future is not bright.

[Eric Mc]

During Farnborough Airshow week, BBC used to have a nightly update that ran for about half an hour each evening. They would then have at least an hour long summary presentation on the Sunday- all hosted by Raymond Baxter of course. Very similar to the way they cover the Chelsea Flower Show today.
In 1983 BBC showed a number of Airshow highlights programmes featuring St Athan , Biggin Hill and Greenham Common.
In 1984 they covered the Farnborough show as described above as well as that year’s Mildenhall Air Fete.
ITV (usually TVS) also covered a few Airshows in the late 80s.

[Eric Mc]

I think a big factor in the BBC’s interest in air shows was the fact that so many of the technicians and presenters who worked in the BBC from the early 1850s to the end of the 70s had all either served during World War 2 or had done National Service. They were genuinely interested in aviation.